One piece collapsible plastic-carrying carton

ABSTRACT

A bottle carrier of collapsible type, and having a general appearance of the conventional &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;six pack,&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; the device comprising of one piece member molded out of plastic material, the device including opposite sidewalls and opposite end walls enclosing a rectangular central area divided by transverse partitions and a central longitudinal partition with a handle grasp at the upper end thereof, and a plurality of transverse extending sections comprising a bottom wall; the bottom walls being downwardly bent about a central fold line when at the same time the opposite end walls and transverse partitions are bent about vertical center fold lines so as to collapse the device into a flat shape when not in use.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Charles J. Mittel 1100 80th St. CT. South, St. Petersburg, Fla. 33707 [21] Appl. No. 46,386 [22] Filed June 15, 1970 [45] Patented Dec. 7, 1971 [54] ONE PIECE COLLAPSIBLE PLASTIC-CARRYING CARTON 1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 220/113 [51] 865d 75/00 [50] Field ofSearch 220/113,

1 l 1, l 10 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,389,831 6/1968 l'lirota 220/11 1 2,525,686 10/1950 Kowal 2,576,179 11/1951 l-loly 3,309,651 6/1962 Lang..

Primary Examiner-William T. Dixson, Jr. Assistant Examiner-James R. Garrett ABSTRACT: A bottle carrier of collapsible type, and having a general appearance of the conventional six pack," the device comprising of one piece member molded out of plastic material, the device including opposite s'idewalls and opposite end walls enclosing a rectangular central area divided by transverse partitions and a central longitudinal partition with a handle grasp at the upper end thereof, and a plurality of transverse extending sections comprising a bottom wall; the bottom walls being downwardly bent about a central fold line when at the same time the opposite end walls and transverse partitions are bent about vertical center fold lines so as to collapse the device into a flat shape when not in use.

PATENTED DEC 1 I971 I 3525393 'SHEET 1 or 2 ONE PIECE COLLAPSIBLE PLASTIC-CARRYING CARTON This invention relates generally to bottle carriers.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a carrying carton for a plurality of bottles or the like, the carton being molded in one piece of an inexpensive plastic material, and wherein when not in use, the carton is readily collapsible into a flat condition.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a carrying carton which accordingly takes less storage space than a solid carton.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a plastic-carrying canon which is less destructible than cardboard material and is accordingly reuseable for sales and container return.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a plastic carrying carton which due to being made of plastic material will not break when the carton becomes wet, thereby eliminating the danger of glass bottles dropping out and breakmg.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide a one piece collapsible plastic-carrying carton which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, rugged in construction easy to use and efficient in operation.

These and other objects will be readily evident upon a study of the following specification and the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. I is a top plan view of the present invention and shown in phantom lines a partly collapsed position,

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view thereof and showing in phantom lines a partly collapsed position,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the invention, shown partly in cross section,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary end view, and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the lines 6-6 of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the reference numeral 10 represents a one piece collapsible plastic carrying case or carton according to the present invention wherein there is a singular molded member 11 made of semirigid plastic material so that when erected, it will maintain its shape but which is readily foldable about weakened portions thereof.

The member 11 includes a pair of opposite parallel sidewalls 12, parallel opposite end walls I3 so to enclose a generally rectangular central area which is divided by means of a longitudinally extending central partition 14 and a pair of transverse extending partitions 15 so as to form individual recepticles 16 each one of which is adaptable for containing a beverage bottle or the like.

The longitudinally extending central partition 14 has a portion thereof extending relatively higher than the remainder of the member ll so as to form a carrying handle 17 comprised of a thickened portion 18 forming a bar and an opening 19 there below so that a person may fit his fingers through the opening 19 for grasping the bar 18.

Each of the end walls 13 has a vertically extending central weakened portion 20 so that the same forms a readily foldable hinge. Likewise each of the end walls 13 has a vertically extending weakened portion 21 at each opposite vertical edge thereof so that the same is likewise readily hinged in movement.

It should at this point be noted that each of the transverse extending partitions I5 are made of a thinner material than wall for the carrying carton. The sections 24 extend transversely parallel to each other and with a space 25 therebetween. As is shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 of the drawings, it is to be noted that each of the bottom wall sections 24 is provided with a central weakened portion 26 there across so that the same will be readily foldable, while the opposite ends of the bottom wall sections 24 are provided with weakened portions 27 so that the same is readily foldable and permit the bottom wall sections to fold as indicated by the phantom lines in FIG. 6 showing a semicollapsed position thereof.

As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawing, it is to be noted that the lower edge 28 of the longitudinal central partition 14 is provided with downwardly extending hooks 29 so as to form a notch 30 into which a side edge 31 of the bottom wall section 24 can be readily snapped so that the center of the bottom wall section 24 can be supported by the longitudinal partition 14 and thereby support readily heavy beverage bottles carried within the recepticles 16.

In practical use, the carrying cartons will be included in the retail sale of beverage bottles or the like containing beverages, the cartons accordingly being in an erected position such as shown in FIG. 3 and with the hooks 29 supporting the bottom wall sections 24. When the device is not in use, the hooks 29 are simply disengaged from the sections 24 upon exerting excessive pressure manually, and then compressing the opposite sidewalls 12 toward each other so that the carton begins to assume the shape as shown in phantom lines in FIG. I and during which, at the same time, the bottom wall sections start to fold downwardly as indicated in FIGS. 2 and 6. Thus the carton can be folded into a flat position or easily stored or taking up minimum space in storage purposes.

What I now claim is:

I. In a one piece collapsible plastic-carrying carton, the combination of a one piece member made of semirigid plastic material molded together, said one piece member including opposite panel sidewalls an opposite panel end walls around a central rectangular area divided into a plurality of receptacles by means of a central longitudinally extending partition and a plurality of transverse extending partitions, the lower edges of Said side walls being connected to opposite ends of a plurality of transverse extending bottom wall sections, said longitudinally extending central partition having an upward extending portion forming a convenient carrying handle, each of said end walls being provided with a vertically extending central weakened portion and the opposite vertical side edges of each of said end walls being provided with a weakened portion for likewise folding operation, each of said transverse extending bottom wall sections being provided with a central weakened portion extending transversely across for folding purpose and the opposite ends of said bottom wall sections being likewise weakened for folding purposes, each of said bottom wall section extending parallel to each other with spaces there between, and a bottom edge of said longitudinally extending partition being provided with a plurality of hooks formed there in, each of said hooks incorporating a notch opening longitudinally of said partition and into which a side edge of each of said bottom wall sections is snapingly receivable.

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1. In a one piece collapsible plastic-carrying carton, the combination of a one piece member made of semirigid plastic material molded together, said one piece member including opposite panel sidewalls an opposite panel end walls around a central rectangular area divided into a plurality of receptacles by means of a central longitudinally extending partition and a plurality of transverse extending partitions, the lower edges of said side walls being connected to opposite ends of a plurality of transverse extending bottom wall sections, said longitudinally extending central partition having an upward extending portion forming a convenient carrying handle, each of said end walls being provided with a vertically extending central weakened portion and the opposite vertical side edges of each of said end walls being provided with a weakened portion for likewise folding operation, each of said transverse extending bottom wall sections being provided with a central weakened portion extending transversely across for folding purpose and the opposite ends of said bottom wall sections being likewise weakened for folding purposes, each of said bottom wall section extending parallel to each other with spaces there between, and a bottom edge of said longitudinally extEnding partition being provided with a plurality of hooks formed there in, each of said hooks incorporating a notch opening longitudinally of said partition and into which a side edge of each of said bottom wall sections is snapingly receivable. 